The White House renewed its search for a homeland security chief as the candidate &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/14538_bushkerry.html ' target=_blank>President George W Bush thought ideal apologised for an immigration problem involving a family housekeeper that forced him to withdraw.
"I owe the president ... a great apology that this may have caused him and his administration a big distraction," Bernard Kerik said on Saturday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Speaking from his home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, the 49-year-old Kerik said he had discovered a few days ago that he did not pay all required taxes for a family nanny-housekeeper and that the woman may have been in the country illegally, reports News24.
&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/04/26/28042.html ' target=_blank>US media organisations had been probing the colourful and sometimes-controversial Mr Kerik's past, producing damaging reports that raised concerns about his behaviour.
The most recent example was a Newsweek report at the weekend that an arrest warrant had been issued for him after a civil property dispute six years ago. But Mr Kerik said yesterday the matter had been settled.
Mr Bush quickly accepted Mr Kerik's resignation. The former police chief said he thought he could have toughed out the nomination hearings, but the cost would be too great.
"It would have been messy, ugly and an embarrassment to President Bush, so I withdrew my name," he said, informs The Australian.
According to The Times, Mr Bush is expected to move quickly, possibly as early as today, to announce his replacement choice as &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/09/11/36381.html ' target=_blank>Homeland Security Secretary.
The most daring appointment would be to follow the advice of Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, and choose Joe Lieberman, a Democrat. Ms Collins carries some weight on the issue as chairman of the Senate committee that will oversee the nomination process.
Mr Lieberman, Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential campaign, began the year to go one better and run against Mr Bush as the Democratic presidential nominee.
There has been talk in Washington of Mr Bush seeking to tap the genial Connecticut senator for a Cabinet job. Mr Lieberman is a defence hawk and centrist who was one of the driving forces behind the post-9/11 creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
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